No more, No less
by inosentengtabonista
Summary: Neon-sama. I was tasked to protect you at all times. No more, no less." Anything apart from keeping her safe and secured was considered beyond his duties. Until the circumstance called for it.


Disclaimer: I honestly own nothing.

No More, No less

The speedometer in front of her was swinging violently, rocking to and fro like a pendulum out of control. Five minutes ago they were peacefully driving along the seemingly abandoned highway heading toward the Nostrad mansion when her bodyguard suddenly shifted gears, dramatically altering the speed. She clutched her seatbelt tight wanting to shut her eyes in total confusion, but not being able to bring herself to speak or complain because of the intensity she saw in his eyes . . .

_What's going on?_

The indicator pointed out that they were currently traveling at a speed of 140 miles per hour. That kind of speed was dangerously, murderously fast. He was endangering both their lives! Then again, he wouldn't race this car like a madman unless…

She turned her attention to the side mirror, then peered out. A black sedan was tailing them from a distance of about 50 meters with escorts of men in motorcycles. The distance they tried to keep was becoming even shorter by the minute. In the movies, only the bad guys drive black sedans and carry with them an army of men in black suits.

Her thoughts were immediately pushed out of her head as the car sharply turned around the corner.

She let out a stifled cry.

"Get down," the Kuruta said levelly.

Confused, Neon nevertheless dropped herself to the lowest point she could get, curling her legs beneath her in a fetal position.

Kurapika opened the window and took aim with a gun Neon could swear was not in his possession a while ago. A short second later, five shots rang out in quick succession. Neon automatically clapped two trembling hands over her ears, the noise ringing inside her head.

"Kurapika! Are you shooting people?"

"Scaring them out," He said shortly, aimed again then fired twice. Two shots sounded wildly from outside then another, then all went still. Someone returned fire.

The sedan slammed its shining bumper into an innocent oak tree, who was harmlessly standing by the road. The metal folded like an accordion. With wheels totally deflated and windshields irreparably broken, a mad mob walked out of the car.

The motorcycle men, with flat tires and broken weapons, crashed in the road, and were uselessly strewn all over the place.

Kurapika lowered his weapon then skidded the car into a complete halt. Neon felt her head slam against the car compartment, the earsplitting sound of gunfire ringing listlessly in her head. Painfully, she resumed her position and tried to grasp the situation at hand.

After a moment of hesitation, he spared a quick glance at her.

"Stay here,"

Head hung in strained acquiescence; she gave him a pleading look that elicited no response. Grudgingly, though, she obliged.

The mob and the Kuruta met head- on along the freeway, a place almost covered by the forest. Four men in black suits emerged from the automobile and prepared for a violent confrontation, eyes carefully scrutinizing the man that dared face them. It was either he was just unaware of their identity or he was plain stupid, they all thought. In this case, the second one was most likely to apply.

They obviously outnumbered him. And yet no sound of gunfire was heard, no combat at hand. There they all stood, guns trained on her bodyguard, but none of them moving to use them.

"We are here for the fortune teller," the lead man said finally. "That is all you need to know. If you don't comply, we will be forced to use extreme measures."

The flaxen haired lad tilted his head. A faint smile curved in his lips.

Unexpectedly, Kurapika lowered his gun- as if confident that he did not need it.

"I have some pressing questions, and will have them answered," the Kuruta said smoothly, "Pay more attention to what you are saying, they could be your last words." There was a chill in his voice that made the black clad men think twice.

"Stay where you are!" Suddenly, the lead man was almost in a state of panic. Every weapon was up and aimed once more.

"Are you giving me an order?" the Kuruta asked softly. The subsurface violence was there, almost always in control.

Tension hung in the air, wrapping the silence around them.

The Kuruta took another step, undaunted by the empty threat posed by the mafia. The guns came up another few inches. Their panicked owners moved as if to step forward.

"Put them down!" The command was harsh, bringing out the children in them.

The black clad men immediately yielded and lowered down their weapons as if deers caught in the headlights.

"Identify yourself,"

The man started to speak, but he caught himself and clamped his jaws shut. He glimpsed at the others, in an almost effeminate manner, seeking for help. They were sweating blood.

"I cannot reveal that information," the man finally mumbled.

"What is your mission?"

Silence.

"Whose service are you in?" was the next question.

The man swallowed. "I cannot -"

"You can, and you will," said Kurapika coldly. "Who is your superior?"

The man was now desperate. His weapon forgotten, he sought ways of escape, his eyes darting from corner to corner searching for a mouse hole.

"Sir -" one of the men ventured. The Kuruta turned his eyes to the speaker, who promptly lost his voice.

"Speak up," It was the order from the teenager.

"Mr. Gato!" he blurted out, and looked horrified. His men looked as if they were about to swallow their tongues.

"You fool!" spat the lead man. Instead of butchering that to which information was delivered, he shot the speaker, then fired to Kurapika's direction. Bullet easily dodged, Kurapika raised his weapon once more and fired at the lead man's leg, while another of the two attempts to shoot at the Kuruta, who was undeniably faster. He knocked the man off his weapon and bashed him in the shin. The man was unconscious before he hit the ground. The other man scurried deeper into the woods and run off.

Back in the car, Neon wanted to panic. She just could not bear the thought that death was a breath away, and that her life was in the hands of a man she only knewtoo well.

Kurapika returned without further delay and slammed his feet into the gears as the car roared to life. Wordlessly, they trudged the highway once more, leaving behind the smashed car, unconscious men and wrecked motorcycles. Awkward silence followed. Neon stared at him, fumbling for words. She was especially afraid of silences, gaps of words and unspoken thoughts and did all her best to avoid getting to the point of losing touch with words. Right now, any word, just any word would do.

"You- you let one of them escape," She couldn't think of anything better to say.

"So they would know who they're dealing with," he answered shortly.

More silence. The engine of the car started creating rummaging noises, which provided good quality background music for the couple.

"We – we're not going to the mansion, are we?" Just to bridge the gap. Actually, she wasn't entirely aware of what she was saying. She was afraid- to the point of being terrorized of the silence she feared might follow.

"I will have to take you some place else."

Then, as if sensing her apprehension, he continued. "Mr. Gato is a shrewd businessman. He gets what he wants. He is a compelling crime lord who seeks to expand his domain and rise to the pinnacle of power. He believes in the principle that money is far more useful than people. There is no reason for us to linger around and relax when the enemy is tracking you fast."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Gato will never stop looking for you- not unless you are dead," Kurapika ended by the morbid mention of death. There was a subtle, unspoken warning resided beneath the retelling of the businessman's ambitions in life. And yet Neon, being Neon, couldn't care less. She diverted her attention to the small drops of rain forming mystical shapes by the window. She quietly observed the sliding particles of raindrops rolling down the glass. Minutes after, the rain was pouring into a torrent cascading down the front glass wildly. Neon stared out the window and played with the mist clouding in the window glass, trying to forget the scene that kept running through her mind since the frustrated kidnap attempt.

Kurapika's eyes fell on the cherry haired lady beside him. She was disturbed, he felt it, and yet there was nothing he can do. It cannot be helped. In order to protect her, he had to enter into conflict and exchange blows and eventually kill the mafia. He did not use his chain so as not to overuse his nen and to conserve energy. And yet he thought it frightened her, that he used a .22 colt revolver in order to shield her from harm. But then everything was back to normal now and in due course, he almost hoped, she would be able to forget the encounter. Prior to that, he also hoped that they wouldn't run out of gas since it was almost---

The car made rasping sounds, like a man struggling to keep body and soul together.

The car screeched into a halt.

"We don't have much choice. It's getting late now and we need a place to rest." Then he went out of the car. Neon followed suit. He pointed to the north clearing of the woods. "There's a hut over there. We can stay there until the rain stops."

………………….

"The rain may not stop anytime soon," he said, turning his gaze outside the hut's window. "Go to sleep. I'll watch over for us."

The driving rain was unrelenting, soaking every dry piece of land, filling every empty spaces with its contents. The wind was howling as the trees swayed along with it. The couple sat across each other on the floor in silence, Neon avoiding the scrutiny of her bodyguard. No sound was heard except for the weeping sky and the movements of an uncomfortable prophetess who mourned with it. She wanted to go home, to forget everything then shop and shop and shop until she dies of suffocation. And yet there was no home to return to. There was no family, no friends or relatives. There were only maids and bodyguards and the mansion, which is a non-living thing. She felt so helpless and alone. She was of no use now. With her powers gone and a crazy mafia hunting her, she was as good as dead. Only her bodyguard cared enough to stay and go beyond his duties, even after everything that has happened to him, even after Raito died.

"Neon-sama," he called, puzzled by the sudden rise of emotions on her face.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She tucked her knees under her chin then looked him straight in the eye.

"Hold me," She beseeched him. Kurapika blinked, on his face registered something between surprise and something quite unreadable.

"Touch me, hug me," She pleaded with her emerald green eyes, then added, barely above a whisper, "Kiss me if you want… just- just tell me… tell me it's gonna be okay…" Neon was on the verge of tears. She bit her trembling lower lip, trying to push back all the fear she felt at the moment. She was visibly shaking, paled from head to toe. The satin dress she was wearing made her look even more pallid, like a survivor from the sunken ship Titanic.

She looked like a damsel in distress longing for the touch and caress of a lover. It was enough to hypnotize any being with balls between their legs. But not the scarlet eyed avenger. He would not be easily hooked up. With all the strength and might and willpower he could muster, he steeled himself and nonchalantly replied, "Neon-sama. I am your bodyguard. I was tasked to protect you at all times. No more, no less."

It was a final statement. She swallowed the air with much difficulty as her chest tightened. It was too soon for it to end.

"All this is new to me… My fa- ," A moment of hesitation, then, "Raito died," She said a matter-of-factly. Her voice barely above a whisper, she continued, "I lost my powers, and I am currently being chased by a deranged mafia who still thinks I have my Lovely Ghostwriter! to make it worse, I witness people, killing people!" She indignantly, hysterically enumerated the misfortune of being Neon without breathing.

"Neon-sama," Kurapika spoke undaunted by the hysteria of his Boss. "You are tired. You need rest."

At that, she stood up, fuming then began to stomp her way to the hut's exit. The man that could turn her down like that was not yet born. She had never known someone so unfeeling, so unemotional, so callous, and so- so… No words could simply match her coldhearted bodyguard. His heart was more callous than the feet of the Tabon men, colder than the temperature in Atlantic decreased by a hundred degrees Celsius. She silently cursed him, along with Mr. Gato and the leader of the Phantom Brigade. And after that, she must die. There were too many reasons to die and none to live. She could just die of a broken heart. Die of cold. Die of mental anguish. Die of-of ...

"Neon!"

Neon suddenly lost balance. She was sauntering to the exit of the hut with the purpose of suicide. She was also unaware of the crack on the floor and almost unmindfully slipped into it, when the Kuruta caught her waist and cushioned his own body against hers to prevent her from falling. He grabbed her wrists and yanked her inside the hut.

The stubbornness of the prophetess won over gratitude.

"Let go!" She struggled to break free from his grip but he was just too strong. Not wanting to give up, she slammed her fists against his chest, all dignity forgotten. The rain that poured noisily sounded encouraging and seemed to be cheering her on.

All the tears she held back started rolling down her face, betraying all her trust. They just started to pour down on the spur of the moment and there was nothing she could do to stop them from flowing.

"I hate you… all of you…" She sobbed incoherently on his very hospitable chest, blaming her very impeccable bodyguard , " You unfeeling bastard… damn you-oh, damn you and your bodyguardly principles… I hate you! Why don't you just curl up and die and rot in hell… you devil incar—,"

Neon, through her lament, never noticed how he froze when she clutched his clothes or how he trembled when her tears fell on his hands.

Then, in a slow motion, he grabbed her nape and pulled her close to him, close enough for her to feel his heart beating fast. Her breathing was ragged, her cheeks tear streaked and red from pouring out all her emotions and sentience. But when he finally took her in his arms, all of Neon's defenses gradually disappeared. She helplessly slumped on his very inviting chest, her knees jellylike and weak, her head resting on his shoulders.

There was no need for words right now.

In a blessed moment, he touched her, and hugged her, putting aside all his principles and ideology. The scarlet eyed avenger then lowered his mouth and whispered into her ear, two words that spoke volumes of his sentences in explanation, two words that could mean the world for her, two words thatcould change their lives forever...

"I'm sorry." _For being afraid to go near you ... and leave you hurting... _


End file.
